Environmental responsibility

Environmental sustainability is a core part of our business planning and determines how we operate and make decisions. Gecko recognises that we have a duty of care to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep our environmental impact to a minimum. Our policy focuses on three core areas: 

Ourselves 

We aim to create the conditions for sustainable working and will strive to ensure that Gecko’s employees, freelance team and trustees work in low-carbon, efficient environments, and that our work and operations use the minimum of resources and produce a minimum of waste 

Our Industry 

Our ambition is to contribute to a more sustainable cultural industry by sharing data and good practice, and by collaborating with others in the sector  

Our Audience and Participants 

We hope that our audiences will understand Gecko’s decision process and contribution to a sustainable world, and will feel informed and inspired about the contribution they can make as individuals.

Our actions and commitments

  • We plan to collect and analyse data to understand our environmental impact and to develop a strategy to mitigate that impact.

  • We are keeping a materials inventory for the new show as outlined in the Theatre Green Book to create a baseline of data from which to understand the physical footprint of our shows.

  • We encourage our staff, trustees, partners, stakeholders, participants and the public to adopt environmentally sustainable practices themselves .

  • We trialled a new minimal-print initiative for The Wedding 2021-22 tour, working with venues to reduce flyer quantities from thousands to hundreds (or in some cases, none at all!). The money saved was instead used to place posters with QR codes that linked to an e-flyer in high impact locations, to advertise on digital screens, and to spread our reach on social media. This is something we will continue to consider, implement and prioritise in conversations with venues going forward.

  • We are ensuring environmental sustainability is taken into account when developing our plans for the Creation Space, including adopting BREEAM construction standards to achieve a ‘very good’ rating.

When seeing a Gecko show or attending a workshop, please consider what you can do to minimise your impact on the environment - bringing reusable water bottles, lunch boxes or cups for your drink at the theatre, taking public transport, and accessing our resources online instead of printing them.

And use your voice, even if your platform seems small! Talk about the steps you take to be more sustainable. Help to challenge the status quo, normalise thinking sustainably, and spread the word!

We’re always looking to improve our practises. If you have any questions or ideas, please contact info@geckotheatre.com.

Banner image: Photo from the Climate Strike at Ipswich Town Hall on 20 Sept 2019 which the Gecko office team attended and supported.